Lovely people who read The Streetlamp

Saturday, 21 January 2012

Those of you with very good memories may recall that I first wrote about Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter Stephen Harrison (pictured) way back in November 2010 (see 'here' if you need to catch up on the biographical details). At that time I was so enamoured of his song 'The Colour of Black is Black' that it went on to feature in our 2010 Streetlamp Festive Thirty. What really attracted me to Stephen's music was undoubtedly the timbre of his voice; pitched somewhere between Richard Hawley and David Bowie (not a bad place to be) it has a rich but weary quality that provides an authentic tang of melancholia to his lyrics. Stephen's musical history stretches back to the punk days of yore and it would be fair to say that, despite shifting somewhat across the guitar-based rock spectrum over the years, his music has remained fixed within that milieu. That is why I was surprised recently when Stephen got in touch to announce the release of his latest recording, 'Today Tomorrow' and provided the additional information that he had eschewed the electric guitar to record a 10-song album of acoustic-based, contemporary folk songs.

Having now had a week or so to fully acquaint myself with his new style I can genuinely report that the change has proved to be an unqualified success. Those of you who read these 'Griff says' pieces to keep up-to-date with the best in broken-hearted, reflective, confidential song-writing performed in a spare, intimate and unembelished acoustic style are going to lap this up. Here are Stephen's own videos of two of my favourite songs from the album to whet your appetite. First up is the magnificent and moody 'Sphinx City', which, with its sombre lyric, wistful minor key and unexpected chord changes gives it an air of a French chanson or even (praise of praise) a lost Leonard Cohen classic;

Next up is the equally dignified and accomplished 'And If';

I hope you enjoyed those. There are eight more tracks on the album and I suggest that you take your time to sit down, turn out the lights, and really listen to it from start to finish to get the best from the hushed and almost private nature of the songs.As usual, Stephen is making the CD available from his own Close Up Records site. The album can be downloaded for free in digital form from his bandcamp site and from his last.fm page. The latter also has much of his earlier work available if this latest album piques your interest. Stephen also has his own fine little website 'here', which is well worth a look.

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About Us

The Streetlamp blog covers music, art, culture and politics from a socialist, anti-consumerist, green perspective. It is curated by former members of the Scottish Lo-fi band ~Sighrens~ with help from our film-making friend Ray. Each of us involved in producing content for this blog occupy a special niche. Ray will be responsible for the video content. Gordon will be sharing his love and encyclopaedic knowledge of Indie-pop as well as classic Punk and 60s music ( particularly Garage and obscure Psychedelic Pop). Griff's special areas of interest are Lo-fi, Indie-folk, Bedroom-pop, Outsider music, Pop-punk and Hip-hop. Hopefully, there'll be something for anyone with an interest in genuine independent music. Our wider intention is not just to promote our favourite artists, but to also help and support those who allow their music to be listened to, streamed or downloaded for free. If you share our passions, or if you are a like-minded band or artist then please feel free to contribute or to link your own page to our Blog. Our aim is to create a community free from the restrictions enforced by the greedy corporate shysters.